Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield ready to step in and face former UFC champion Vitor Belfort next month after Oscar De La Hoya tests positive for Covid and pulls out of comeback fight Oscar De La Hoya is out of his comeback fight after testing positive for Covid He was set to face former UFC champion Vitor Belfort in LA on September 11 Legendary former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield is ready to step in By David Wood for MailOnline Published: 20:09 BST, 3 September 2021 | Updated: 20:09 BST, 3 September 2021 Viewcomments Oscar De La Hoya is out of his comeback fight with Vitor Belfort next month after testing positive for Covid Legendary former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield is ready to step in and face former UFC champion Belfort on September 11, according to tmz.com. De La Hoya tweeted that he contracted the virus despite being full vaccinated. Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield is ready to replace Oscar De La Hoya Wanted you to hear directly from me that despite being fully vaccinated, I have contracted Covid and am not going to be able to fight next weekend. Preparing for this comeback has been everything to me over the last months, & I want to thank everyone for their tremendous support. pic.twitter.com/0wKEnr5Jzv — Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) September 3, 2021 He said: 'Wanted you to hear directly from me that despite being fully vaccinated, I have contracted Covid and am not going to be able to fight next weekend. 'Preparing for this comeback has been everything to me over the last months, & I want to thank everyone for their tremendous support. De La Hoya was due to step up in weight to take on Belfort in his first fight for more than decade at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. De La Hoya was set to face former UFC champion Vitor Belfort in LA on September 11 Promoters Triller Fight Club are set to replace him with Holyfield, who was in training for a comeback of his own against Kevin McBride, which was originally scheduled for June and then August. The California State Athletic Commission will have have to approve the Holyfield-Belfort showdown. If the commission does not sanction the fight, then the bout could then be staged in Florida instead. The fight was supposed to be De La Hoya's return to the ring after losing his last fight to Manny Pacquiao in 2008. Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility